Balloons

Abstract

Arrangements are described for enabling a folded foil balloon to be supplied to a printer for enabling an image to be applied to a surface of the balloon. The balloon is first folded around a paper substrate, and a paper cover sheet is attached to the folded-over edge portions and tail portion of the balloon, so as to form a packaged balloon. The packaged balloon is formed with a tapered leading edge to facilitate insertion into a standard ink-jet printer. The packaged balloon may be in the form of a greetings card, with the fold of the card either along the left edge or the top edge of the card. The packaged balloon may be supplied with one or more light sources and/or power sources, either on the inside or outside of the balloon.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A packaged balloon on which an image is to be applied, the packaged balloon comprising:
 (a) a substrate; 
 (b) a balloon which is folded around the substrate so as to present a first face on which the image is to be applied, and a second face containing at least one edge of the balloon; and 
 (c) a planar member attached to the second face of the folded balloon so as to cover the at least one edge of the balloon, wherein the planar member extends beyond the area occupied by the folded balloon so as to define a leading edge to facilitate the insertion of the packaged balloon into a printer. 
 
     
     
       2. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the balloon comprises foil and at least a part of the first face of the folded balloon has been treated to permit an image to be applied thereto by ink-jet printing. 
     
     
       3. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the planar member comprises a material selected from: paper, card, polyester and plastic. 
     
     
       4. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the balloon is releasably attached to the substrate by an adhesive. 
     
     
       5. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises a material selected from: paper, card, polyester and plastic. 
     
     
       6. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the planar member is attached to the folded balloon by means of at least one line of adhesive across the width of the leading edge of the packaged balloon. 
     
     
       7. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the planar member is formed integrally with, or joined to, a further planar member extending across an edge of the first surface of the folded balloon, thereby to provide a single leading edge to facilitate insertion of the packaged balloon into an image-applying apparatus. 
     
     
       8. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein both the planar member and the further planar member extend beyond the area occupied by the folded balloon so as to define a leading edge to facilitate the insertion of the packaged balloon into a printer. 
     
     
       9. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising a cover which extends over at least part of the planar member and which is folded over one of the edges of the planar member and is attached to an edge of the first surface of the folded balloon, so as to define a leading edge to facilitate the insertion of the packaged balloon into a printer. 
     
     
       10. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising a protective cover which extends over the first surface of the folded balloon and which can be removed from the folded balloon prior to an image being applied thereto. 
     
     
       11. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the unfolded balloon is substantially circular. 
     
     
       12. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 1  and having a size substantially equal to A4. 
     
     
       13. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 1  and having a size substantially equal to, or substantially larger than, A3. 
     
     
       14. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein at least a part of the balloon comprises translucent foil. 
     
     
       15. A packaged balloon as claimed  claim 1 , and provided within a vacuum-sealed container. 
     
     
       16. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the planar member is attached to the folded balloon by means of at least one line of adhesive across the width of the leading edge of the packaged balloon. 
     
     
       17. A packaged balloon as claimed in  claim 16 , wherein the single line of adhesive is between the further planar member and the folded balloon.